Stress is a normal part of life, and most people experience it from time to time. Especially when work or school feels difficult, you’re experiencing relationship challenges, financial concerns, health issues, and major life changes.
While some stress can be temporary and manageable, persistent stress can affect your mood, sleep, relationships, concentration, and overall well-being. You may find yourself wondering whether what you’re experiencing is everyday stress or a sign that you could benefit from additional support.
Understanding the signs and symptoms of stress, how it differs from anxiety, and when you should consider therapy can make it easier to understand what you’re feeling and identify healthy ways to cope.
In this article, we’ll explore:
What Is Stress?
Stress is the body and mind’s response to challenging or overwhelming situations and experiences. It can occur when you feel that the demands of what you’re facing are too much to manage or require you to adjust in a difficult way.
Stress can be caused by everyday pressures, such as work or school responsibilities, relationship difficulties, financial concerns, health issues, family conflict, or major life changes. In some situations, stress is short-term and you may feel relief after the stressful period has passed. However, when stress continues over a longer period of time, it can begin to affect your emotional and physical well-being.
Experiencing stress doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a mental health condition. However, recognizing when stress is becoming persistent or difficult to manage can help you determine when additional support may be helpful.
Common Causes of Stress
Stress can arise from different areas of your life, and what’s stressful for one person may not be for another. Sometimes stress is connected to a single event, while other times it develops from several ongoing pressures happening at once.
Common causes of stress may include:
Work or academic pressure
Relationship or family difficulties
Financial concerns
Health problems
Caring for a family member or loved one
Moving, starting a new job, or other major life changes
Feeling overwhelmed by multiple responsibilities
Uncertainty about the future
Sometimes, even positive life changes can cause stress because they require adjustment. Understanding what may be contributing to your stress can be an important first step toward finding ways to manage it.
Stress vs. Anxiety: What’s the Difference?
Stress and anxiety can feel similar, and both may involve symptoms such as worry, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension, or changes in sleep. However, there are some important differences between the two.
Stress
Stress is typically connected to an identifiable situation or external pressure, including deadlines, financial concerns, relationship difficulties, or major life changes. Feelings of stress may lessen once the situation has passed or becomes more manageable.
Anxiety
Anxiety can persist even when there’s no immediate or obvious stressor. You may experience ongoing worry, nervousness, or fear that feels difficult to control. Persistent or excessive anxiety may also be associated with an anxiety disorder, such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).
Stress and anxiety can overlap. Ongoing stress may contribute to feelings of anxiety, and it’s possible to feel both at the same time. If you’re unsure what may be contributing to your symptoms, a mental health professional can help you better understand what you’re experiencing and determine what type of support may be helpful.
How Do I Know If I Need Therapy or If I’m Just Stressed?
Feeling stressed doesn’t necessarily mean you need therapy. Stress is a common response to some situations, and it may improve as the situation changes or with additional support from friends, family, and healthy coping strategies.
However, therapy may be helpful when stress becomes persistent, feels increasingly difficult to manage, or begins to interfere with your daily life. Rather than focusing only on how stressed you feel, it can be helpful to consider how long the stress has lasted and how much it is affecting your ability to function.
You may want to consider therapy if:
Stress is affecting your sleep, relationships, work, or school
You frequently feel overwhelmed or unable to cope
Your usual coping strategies are no longer helping
You are withdrawing from people or activities you normally enjoy
Stress is contributing to ongoing anxiety, irritability, or low mood
You are having difficulty managing everyday responsibilities
You do not need to wait until stress becomes severe to speak with a therapist. Therapy can provide a supportive space to better understand what is contributing to your stress and develop strategies for managing it.
If you’re still unsure, our guide on how to know if you need therapy explores additional signs that professional support may be helpful.
How Therapy Can Help With Stress
Therapy can provide a supportive space to better understand what’s contributing to your stress and develop strategies for managing it.
Depending on your individual needs and goals, therapy may help you:
Identify sources and patterns of stress
Develop healthier coping strategies
Recognize and change unhelpful patterns of thinking or behavior
Improve emotional regulation
Set boundaries and manage competing responsibilities
Develop problem-solving skills for stressful situations
Build resilience for managing future stressors
Different therapeutic approaches may be used to help manage stress, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), mindfulness-based interventions, and other forms of psychotherapy. The most appropriate approach will depend on your symptoms and treatment goals.
Therapy for Stress at Kendall Psychological Associates
If stress is affecting your daily life, relationships, work, or overall well-being, professional support can help. At Kendall Psychological Associates, our experienced clinicians provide personalized, evidence-based therapy to help clients better understand their stress, develop healthy coping strategies, and navigate difficult or overwhelming situations.
Our therapists work with clients experiencing stress related to work or school, relationships, major life transitions, anxiety, grief, and other challenges. Treatment is tailored to each person’s individual needs and goals.
Kendall Psychological Associates offers in-person therapy in Cambridge and Salem, Massachusetts, as well as telehealth appointments across Massachusetts. If stress has become difficult to manage or you would like additional support, request an appointment to get started.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Seven common signs of stress include feeling overwhelmed or irritable, difficulty concentrating, changes in sleep, fatigue, muscle tension or headaches, changes in appetite, and withdrawing from people or activities. Stress can affect everyone differently, and experiencing one or more of these signs does not necessarily mean something is wrong. However, persistent symptoms that interfere with daily life may be a sign that additional support could be helpful.
-
There is no single type of therapy that is best for everyone experiencing stress. Approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), mindfulness-based interventions, and other forms of psychotherapy may help people understand sources of stress and develop healthier ways of coping. The most appropriate approach depends on your individual needs, experiences, and goals.
-
Stress is a normal part of life and does not necessarily mean that you need therapy. Therapy may be worth considering if stress persists, feels difficult to manage, or begins affecting your sleep, relationships, work, school, or ability to complete everyday responsibilities. You also do not need to wait until your symptoms become severe to seek support.
-
Stress and anxiety are different, but they can be closely related. Ongoing stress may contribute to feelings of worry, nervousness, or anxiety, and it is possible to experience both at the same time. If anxiety becomes persistent or difficult to control, a mental health professional can help you better understand your symptoms.
-
You may want to consider therapy if emotional difficulties are persistent, becoming harder to manage, interfering with everyday life, or if your usual coping strategies are no longer helping. Therapy can also be helpful when navigating major life changes or when you simply want additional support. Our guide on how to know if you need therapy explores common signs in more detail.